A small number of patients infected by HIV spontaneously control viral replication without antiretroviral therapy, and do not develop the disease. The ability of these rare patients, known as "HIV controllers", to suppress HIV replication appears to be down to a highly effective immune response. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm observed that CD4+ T immune cells in these patients, recruited from the ANRS CO21 CODEX cohort, were...
For the first time, scientists in the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CNRS/INSERM/Collège de France) have produced direct evidence that the long-term storage of memories involves a dialogue between two brain structures, the hippocampus and cortex, during sleep; by enhancing this dialogue, they succeeded in triggering the consolidation of memories that would otherwise have been forgotten. This work is published in Nature Neuroscience on 16 May 2016.
Setting one’s alarm an hour or two earlier to run, meditate, read or even cook is a trend that is attracting many followers in France, also known as “morningophiles.” Recommended by Hal Elrod in his book The Miracle Morning, this lifestyle, which started in the United States, extols the virtues of waking up very early in the morning, as a source of well-being and productivity.
In 2015, a study conducted by Pierre Meneton, entitled “Unemployment is associated with high cardiovascular event rate and increased all-cause mortality in middle-aged socially privileged individuals,” was published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.
Modifications of the gut microbiota in chronic inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) are both the cause and consequence of these internal disorders. This has been shown a team of French researchers from Inserm, INRA[1], UPMC and AP-HP, who describe these mechanisms and propose new therapeutic approaches. Their work is published in Nature Medicine on 9 May 2016.
An international study, conducted by researchers from the Institute for Development Research (IRD), Inserm and Institut Pasteur and their Guinean partners (Donka University Hospital, Macenta Hospital, National Institute of Public Health, and University of Conakry, confirms that Ebola virus persists in the semen of survivors of the epidemic in Guinea, for up to 9 months after their recovery. These results, which recall the importance of monitoring survivors in order...
Individual small RNAs are responsible for controlling the expression of gonadoliberin or GnRH (Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone), a neurohormone that controls sexual maturation, the appearance of puberty, and fertility in adults. This has just been demonstrated by the “Development and Plasticity of the Neuroendocrine Brain” team led by Vincent Prévot, Inserm Research Director (Jean-Pierre Aubert Research Centre, Lille). The involvement of microRNAs, transcribed from DNA, occurs around birth, and marks a...
Nadine Dragin, a researcher from an Inserm/UPMC/CNRS/AIM team codirected by Sonia Berrih-Aknin and Rozen le Panse at the Institute of Myology, based at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, AP-HP, has demonstrated the central role of AIRE, a key factor in immune tolerance, in the unequal impact of autoimmune diseases on men and women. This work, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation on 1 April 2016, was funded by AFM-Téléthon.
A research team from Paris Descartes University, Inserm and Sainte-Anne Hospital, led by Professor Marie-Odile Krebs, has demonstrated that epigenetic modifications accompany the onset of a psychotic episode in a cohort of young at-risk people aged 15–25 years. These modifications compromise systems for responding to oxidative stress and inflammation. Through this new work, the researchers have shed new light on this disease, for which the main biological explanation, before...
The European Commission is legally required to provide criteria identifying Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), a process that has been blocked for almost three years, allegedly because of a lack of scientific consensus and because an impact assessment study was deemed necessary. Now, a group of 7 independent researchers from universities and research institutions from Europe and the United States* show how little controversy there is around the definition of...
